On the night of the accident, Clifford Johnson was assigned to drive the Assistant Chiefís Buggy. His duties included picking up the Chief at his home in case of alarm. He was en route to pick up Chief Arto and respond to a fire at 1611 Franklin. He was driving his buggy on Crawford Street and had built up a high rate of speed. As he passed Station 8, he ran into
the rear of a slow moving vehicle traveling in the same direction without working tail lights. The fire fighters at Station 8 shouted a warning to the driver of the slow moving vehicle; however, their attempt proved futile. The driver of the other vehicle narrowly escaped injury, yet Johnsonís injuries were fatal. The injured fire fighter was taken to Saint Joseph Hospital where he died early the next day.